"Dean."
When the dean heard Viktor's voice, he closed his pen and rubbed his eyes.
"Come in."
Viktor answered and stepped inside. Behind him, the molten giant hand tossed Devon onto the floor.
The dean saw Devon's miserable state, shook his head, and sighed toward Viktor.
"Professor Viktor, the academy won't cover up your actions."
Viktor had both hands in his pockets, his tone completely emotionless as he replied, "It's fine. I don't need the academy's protection."
"I'll take responsibility for what I've done myself."
The dean nodded, slowly stood up, and leaned on his obsidian cane.
"In that case, please follow me."
Dean Rachel raised his hand and began channeling magical energy. A blue light appeared in his palm like a paintbrush, waving gracefully through the air.
The air before him twisted like a canvas being painted upon, visibly warping at incredible speed.
Soon after, the dean withdrew his magic.
Vega whispered in Viktor's ear, "This old man's magic is interesting."
"Let me see… it's a type of special teleportation magic. Watch this spot. Insert the magic rune here."
Following Vega's guidance, Viktor did as instructed. The air before him shimmered and distorted.
In an instant, he felt the world around him grow hazy as blue light descended.
When his surroundings cleared again, it was an entirely different scene.
Petals of every color danced through the air, swirling like waves upon waves of beauty.
The garden was a floating island, its ground covered entirely in petals.
The refreshing, intoxicating fragrance filled the air, calming Viktor's previously unsettled mood.
"There's actually a separate pocket dimension hidden here. Even I didn't notice it."
Vega marveled beside him, only to see that Viktor showed no surprise at all.
As if he'd already known.
And indeed, he had.
This was the secret map known among players as the Dean's Back Garden, a place only accessible after learning magic directly from Dean Rachel.
Though I've seen this place countless times in the game, experiencing it firsthand still feels incredible, Viktor thought.
It looked exactly as it had in the game.
The dean appeared a few seconds before him and, upon seeing Viktor arrive, gave him a look of faint admiration.
To perceive and decode a magic array with just one glance, truly worthy of the title of genius mage.
"Welcome to my Sea of Knowledge, Professor Viktor. You are the youngest guest I've ever received."
The full name of this hidden map was [Rachel's Sea of Knowledge].
It contained all of Dean Rachel's magical knowledge, only those truly learned could enter.
Fortunately, Viktor had Vega, a god of vast knowledge, by his side.
But now wasn't the time for small talk.
He spoke directly, "Dean, let's get to the point."
The dean said nothing, silently walking toward an open patch of ground with his cane.
Viktor followed, and soon, the surroundings shifted again.
Though they'd only walked a few steps, a wooden cabin now stood before them, surrounded by dense forest, like a secluded house hidden deep in the woods.
The dean walked to the door, which opened automatically.
He turned his head and nodded to Viktor.
"Please, come in, Professor Viktor."
Viktor followed him inside. The cabin was simple, just a single table, and on it, a watermelon.
Nothing else.
The dean tapped the watermelon's top with his cane.
The watermelon slowly turned around. Two deep eyes appeared on it, filled with wisdom that seemed to span the ages.
Then, with heavy lips, it slowly spoke,
"Azure, what's the matter?"
Vega shivered at the sight of the talking watermelon.
Even the hairs on its body stood on end.
This thing made it feel very uncomfortable.
It glanced at Viktor and found that he still looked completely calm, as if he'd already known about this talking watermelon.
'Weird…' Vega thought.
But Viktor wasn't surprised.
Because this was the dean's talking watermelon familiar.
The dean looked at the watermelon and said, "This young man wants to ask you a few questions."
The watermelon stared at Viktor with clear reluctance.
Vega muttered beside his ear, "What's with this guy?"
Viktor didn't answer. He knew the watermelon was peering into his memories.
And sure enough, images flickered through its eyes,
Roaring flames, billowing ash, rivers of molten rock, and surging torrents of magic.
A cataclysmic sight of world-ending destruction.
It saw the surging fire elements coursing through Viktor's body, magma veins glowing across half his torso, making him look like a flame demon god.
Moments later, the watermelon refocused on Viktor and said, "Young people these days… truly incredible."
"I know what you want to ask. The Azure Skylarks will tell us."
Ripples of magic spread outward from the watermelon, radiating through the pocket dimension.
The Skylarks moved.
Then, before Viktor's eyes, a vivid vision appeared.
The scene from yesterday.
Professor Devon, smug and venom-tongued, waved the dean's handwritten letter arrogantly as he expelled Henny.
He even burned the 'Knowledge' that was most precious to her.
Cursed black letters appeared on the floor before Henny, nothing more than an illusion created by fake magic.
Then, three students jumped out, cruelly mocking the collapsed girl, striking the final blow to her already fragile heart.
The onlookers' amusement, the bullies' pride, together, they broke this poor child completely.
"…She cried," Vega murmured.
Cried so hard, desperate, hysterical, and hopeless.
It had actually liked that child.
The vision faded. The watermelon closed its eyes, clearly exhausted.
When its eyes shut, it turned back into an ordinary watermelon.
Even after witnessing everything, Viktor's expression remained unchanged.
The dean squinted and sighed, his white beard ruffling messily as he exhaled.
"I'm very sorry, Professor Viktor."
"As for Henny, your assistant, I truly don't know where she's gone."
"The Skylarks act by my will. If a matter involves personal privacy, they will not appear."
The dean wasn't lying. Viktor knew that.
He hadn't sensed any Skylarks near the office, nor at the dormitory this morning.
Viktor's cold voice broke the silence, "Dean Rachel, tell me, why did that fat pig become a professor at your academy?"
The dean's face showed resignation as he replied, "Professor Viktor, you too are a professor here."
The unspoken meaning was clear, 'You got your position through connections as well. Why can't others?'
The only difference was that Viktor actually had the strength, whereas Professor Devon was a complete fraud.
Viktor said flatly, "When I joined your academy, I was already the youngest Tier-3 mage. And him?"
"Professor Viktor, that's exactly the issue I wanted to discuss with you," Rachel said with visible difficulty.
"The head of the Lesser family married the Emperor's sister."
"As you may have guessed, Sol VIII is Devon Lesser's uncle."
His connections were very strong.
Viktor knew what the dean was implying, Don't kill him.
Otherwise, trouble would follow.
"I understand your anger, Professor Viktor," the dean continued. "But killing won't solve anything. Perhaps you can talk with Professor Devon instead, his crimes don't warrant death."
"I can recall Henny to the academy under my authority and even grant her the title of associate professor. Moreover..."
Moreover, was it really worth killing a royal relative for the sake of a powerless commoner?
The dean didn't say it aloud, but he hoped Viktor understood his intent.
"Dean, I won't kill him," Viktor said coolly.
Rachel sighed in relief, thinking his persuasion had worked.
But then Viktor narrowed his eyes and continued, calm as ever.
"But whether he ends up dying by a demon's hand… that's not something I can control."
He said it as if describing the weather.
Rachel froze, 'A demon? What did demons have to do with this?'
Vega, however, lowered its head.
"You think that disgusting thing went after Henny?"
Viktor's face showed no change.
Just as Vega said, in that vision, he'd seen the three prankster students.
The same three who had collapsed earlier that day.
Their condition could only mean one thing, a demon had stolen their power.
So why had the demon taken it? And to whom had that power been given?
Viktor could only think of the missing Henny.
He didn't respond to Rachel, but the dean's expression grew troubled.
"Professor Viktor, I believe you've already noticed."
"The one standing before you now isn't truly me, I'm attending the annual conference in the City of Mages."
"What you see now is my image, projected through the Skylarks."
"So when this incident happened, I couldn't intervene in time. I'm sorry for letting it escalate."
The Skylarks acted by Rachel's will, but they only followed instinct.
Since Viktor hadn't attended class for days, they reassigned the course to Devon, that made perfect sense to them.
And when a professor expelled a magic apprentice, that too seemed reasonable to their logic.
But not to human judgment.
This was Rachel's failure, poor oversight that led to disaster.
Even after everything, he hadn't thought it serious, one noble, one untalented apprentice. The choice was obvious.
But what he hadn't realized was how fiercely Viktor protected those he cared about.
And that Viktor was a Tier-4 mage, equal to himself.
So Rachel apologized in advance, lowered his stance, and gave Viktor full respect.
"Professor Viktor, please remember what you promised me, whatever you do, don't involve the students."
"They're innocent."
Viktor didn't reply. He nodded expressionlessly, a teleportation array glowing under his feet, and vanished without a trace.
"Ahh…"
Rachel's deep sigh lingered in the air as his figure dissolved into specks of light, merging with the wind.
———
Behind the academy, atop the mountain, a figure in a robe stood at the peak, overlooking the academy below, the place that had bred her despair.
From here, she could see the entire campus.
Her eyes no longer held the innocence or hope they once did.
After enduring excruciating pain, Henny's calm gaze now held only two words, revenge.
A swirl of black mist wrapped around her like water, forming a dark robe that climbed up her hair and shaped a hood.
"Is that small bit of power enough for you?"
"If you're willing to wait, I can give you more… much more."
The voice dripped with dreadful temptation, like an abyss with no end.
But Henny remained unmoved.
"No need."
Her voice was cold, terrifyingly so.
"The professor always said I was too soft. That I never learned to be decisive."
"But now, I won't be weak anymore."
Her body was overflowing with magic, even she didn't know how much power she had received from that thing.
Strictly speaking, Henny still wasn't a mage.
But the sheer volume of her magic now was terrifying beyond measure.
Finally, she could manifest all the knowledge in her mind.
And she had already made all her preparations.
She began to chant.
"God of Hollowness… dance…"
As she chanted, a massive high-level magic array appeared in midair, a dozen smaller arrays overlapping and linking into one enormous spell.
"City of Delirium Magic…"
Several rings of glyphs surrounded the academy, engraved with countless runes.
The lines between them glowed and grew ever more complex, moving like a perfect machine.
This was far beyond a Tier-3 mage's comprehension.
Soon, Henny spread the array across the entire academy, burying it deep underground.
To her, the academy's ideal location was also the perfect place for a grand formation.
Everything was ready.
"Henny?"
"Who?"
Hearing her name, Henny whipped around.
A familiar golden-haired girl stood there, and her eyes flickered in surprise.
The name escaped her lips, "Eri…ca?"
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/XenosX
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰